I'll take it all in a lump sum please.          What is the customary tip for $255 million?   

With this kind of winnings, relocation is pretty much a given even if you are able to remain anonymous.  After I take advantage of Texas' limited publicity through multiple legal entities, I'd be relocating to a beach front villa in the Caribbean until hurricane season.... Got to go some place to chill for a bit and let reality sink in.

I'm not sure how much reality sinks in while sunning on a Caribbean beach. 

My guess is that it will take a couple months to get legal entities all set up with tax ID and such, scrub your personal info from the internet, etc. I believe I read that it takes either 2 or 4 days for electronic transfer after claiming in Texas. I'd be curious to know of the bank will hold access to that transfer. LOL, I can see it now, "what do you mean you won't give me access to my $200 million deposit?!?" Darn banks. Stay away from the big banks initially. Your money is really their money. 

OK, I'm done thinking the process through. Good luck to everyone on Tuesday! I'm off to the gym and picking up tickets on my way. 

4 days worth of sales before the next draw, if it doesn't make it to $400 million I will be surprised. But that really doesn't matter because the cash option amount is good enough now.............

Anyone know where I can find info about winners that were quick picks compared to winners that chose their numbers? because the last 2 drawing, I have a hard time believing anyone would choose those combo's. If someone were to win either of the last 2 they would HAVE to be QP's no?

I can't play All we have is a Powerball that charges $2.00 per ticket

No matter what part of Florida I lived in I would be taking a road trip to Georgia........lol

Just take a ride to another state...If you dont have a car  thumb a ride..

      Yeap

LOL! All  I can do is thumb a ride to Disney where they charge an arm and a leg to get in

With millions playing, I think anything is possible as far as how people choose their numbers. It might not be birthdays, could be numbers

representing any range of personal meanings such as hunch's, lucky numbers, athletic achievements, etc. Why would they have to be QP's?

Thumb works great, I hitched from NH to CA with it in 8 days!

Ok, WHAT am I missing?  Why is the cash value so HIGH ? The Jackpot is 356 mil, how is the cash vaule MORE than the winning Jackpot of 390 mil ????

My first guess is LOW interest rates - means it take more money for cash value to annuitize to the jackpot amount, thus taking a higher cash value. 

Holy Moly that is A LOT of cash. WOW 

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!!!

If no one wins tuesday i think it will go well over $400 Million

I say it don't mean a thing unless you got that winning ticket...doo wop doo wop doo wop doo wop!  But to that end, I have been so hard hit by this administrations policies that I am ALL in for the next drawing. I am going to play $50 in QP and another $50 of my own picks.  I predict just like TW will be getting that W at Bay Hill this weekend, I will be collecting a nice lump sum of cash the first week of April (well I will need a few days to consult with my legal team and interview some accountants!).  And I want to truly thank ALL serious and even the casual lottery players as well as those who only jump in when the jackpot exceeds a certain value in ADVANCE for funding my "live how I want to, where I want to" lifestyle fund. You will notice I didn't use or say the "R" word as I think that is the kiss of death.

A couple more rolls and MM will have accomplished with a $1 ticket what PB was hoping to do with a $2 one.

Powerball lol, there was another winner on Wednesday....that average jackpot won is gettin lower and lower lol

GOD DO NOT LET ME WIN THIS MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT. I wish to win a second prize. It will have less impact in my life.

1 QUICK PICK TICKET.

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY .

About a $166,000,000 wire transfer for me in Pennsylvania!

No State or Local taxes here !

Woo Hoo ........... 1 winner please ..............

Wow $100 in tickets  i was debating whether i should spend the $3 i have one $3 Qp or 3 $1 Qp 

Good Luck with your numbers

there is no way to claim a jackpot this amount anonymous.the lottery commission and the media will be investigating who won as soon as the jackpot is hit. the only thing you can do is wait about 5 or more months or until another jackpot is hit to form a trust and then claim ticket.that's what I would do anyway.

partly.a second tier prize win change your life but also you also won't have to deal with all the unwanted press a large jp stirs up. but i still wouldn't mind winning this jp.

That is my point. I do not want to deal with all the attention. It will change my current life, and I do not want that. I love the job that I do etc. Winning a lottery jackpot will change all that.

Better you or somebody else in lotterypost than me.

My dream is to win a MM or PB second prize, that is the reason I play.

My estimate MM jackpot will be $405 million by the time of drawing, then it will rise by $115 million to $520 for next rollover. Any objections ?

Knowing yourself and your situation is fabulous!  I agree, this kind of win would change not just your LIFE but also your WORLD.  Of necessity it would be a huge roller coaster ride for a while.  Form trusts, travel/hide, move, change name... and still you would be hunted.  You would become the world's most favorite "big game".

Wow - put that way?  I'm in!  I will, in a self-sacrificing move, put myself forward as the target of this media-rage/frenzy, thus saving everyone else.  Whew, now I feel better - I have found a way to save the world w/o even saving the cheerleader.

I wish you win it all. I might not play at all. They should allow players to claim it anonymously.Good Luck to you, may your wish come true.

The media would have a fun time following this winner around.

I'm hoping for multiple jackpot winners. With me included in that group.....

Yep.  Heck even a measly 6 million dollar win on 3/14 was investigated by the clerks at my local Publix Grocery Store (where the ticket was bought).  The ticket was bought back in January and they had gone back on the security cameras and knew exactly who bought the winning ticket.  Turns out it was a man who bought it but a woman claimed the prize.  LOL...she must have sent him to get milk and her winning lotto tickets (she played the same numbers for years). 

As far as claiming in a trust that usually does no good at sheilding your identity because they also list the beneficiary of the trust.

Thrifty - on a serious note:  most likely there will be multiple winners, not just one... which will bring the total j/p way down... think 3 or 4 winners... now that j/p is a 'normal' one... dont give up on it... worst case?  Should you win?  With some careful planning, YOU can choose the 'multiple winners' and share the j/p with 3 or 4 others... spreading the 'media-heat'.

This would be a wonderful j/p even if there were 10 winners (down to the original 40M$ that it PB starts with and WAY over what MM starts with).

Many people picks "birthday numbers" for their lucky numbers in hopes of winning... the past 2 draws have been bday numbers.. that's y there have been so many 2nd place winners.. 68-39... Its not a large probability for those numbers to hit like that... im thankful tho for the jackpot ill be winning on Tuesday :-)

That sounds good, can you imagine winning the whole thing with 1 Quick Pick Ticket. It will be insane.

U covered Twilight and Heroes.. i love it!!! im in... vampires n super powers... yay!!!!! haha ;-)

Some states list that info on their websites, but I can give you a pretty good estimate without checking. For starters we already know that a lot of people play "lucky" numbers, and for a lot of people that means significant dates. Then there's the math.

According to lottorreport,com the last two drawings sold 78,423,325 and 111,282,952 tickets. The odds of winning the 2nd prize are  1 in 3,904,701, so dividing sales by odds tells us that we would have had  20 and 28.5 winners if all the tickets had random combinations and the results did what probability suggests. Instead we had 68 and 39 winners.  We also know that QP's account for between 70 and 80% of total sales, so if everything had been random there would have been 14 to 16 and 20 to 23 QP winners.

Probability certainly alows for unusual results, and there may have been a few more QP winners than suggested by probability, but that many winners is even less likely than winning the jackpot with one ticket.  That makes it virtually certain that almost all of the "extra" winners came from people picking those numbers. There's always the chance that there's some common thread, such as the PB fortune cookie from a few years ago, but it's probably because all the numbers are birthdays numbers. I'll guess that there are two reason that we had more winners from smaller sales on the first drawing. One is that choosing birthday numbers  probably wouldn't result in using the same number for the mega ball that was used for the other 5 numbers. The other is that the first drawing had more numbers that would work for months, as well as the day of the month.

if the winner of this jackpot is smart they'll grab thar bags and get out of the country triple quick

It is time to work on new set of combos. The next draw will most likely to have combination in the balanced spectrum, or maybe it will be all high numbers and MB number being 1. I noticed when the Jackpot gets over 200M the combination no longer balanced. You get like 3 consecutive numbers, all low, all high, all odd, all even, MB from white ball, etc. They are still part of the matrix but not in the balance spectrum, so we shall see what the next results will be like and adjust accordingly.

Good luck everyone.

Yep, right up I-75 to Lake Park.  As I understand it, they sell a lot of Mega Millions tickets right there.  Actually the first couple of exits into Florida still sell a lot of Powerball tickets, even though Georgia has that now too.  People think because Florida has no state income tax that they will reap those benefits, but they are sadly mistaken.  If someone from GA bought the winning powerball ticket in Florida you can best bet that the Georgia Department of Revenue will come running pronto to get that 6%.

That's definitely going 'ALL IN'

For the hell of it, let us know how much in winnings you end up getting for that 100.

I'm thinking more like $20, ten ticks with megapliers.

This is my thoughts as well.  There are certain attorneys that specialize in that sort of thing.  But only a few that are any good at it.

Holy Mammoth  

$356+M

Attys and advisers ???  whewwwwwww...the necessary evil with this kind of $$$.......... Lets see if the winner speaks for themselves, has a designated person to do so or takes the 5th........... If its me...no pics, no comments...and collect on late Friday afternoon, maybe with a plane ticket in hand to a destination of my choosing for a few weeks.....so many choices,options and opportunities..........Let the winning begin on Tuesday !!!

Let me ask... if you already have a ticket in hand but have not collected the money, which may not hit your bank for a few banking days, how do you get the money for your get-away trip? Do you borrow against the winnings that have not yet been collected? Or can you make arrangement with the lottery office to have whatever publicity is required a few days after you actually make the claim? That money just does not magically appear the afternoon you go and collect.

It's an interesting thought anyway, regardless of the jackpot size. How fast do things actually happen?

Yea I luv the megapliers - hit 4 of 6 numbers a couple of months ago with a 4x!! its like I played those numbers 4x's 

I remember back when I got up to $390million. MegaMillions wasn't in Louisiana yet and I told my wife if it were to hit a half billion, I was going to drive to the Texas border(around 3 hours) to buy tickets.  It may do that this time and I'll only have a go about mile to get tickets now.

Louisiana hasn't had a MegaMillions jackpot winner yet, it's time I became the first jackpot winner of the game in Louisiana.

If I understand things correctly, theres a 2 week period for the money to arrive in the state or states that sold the winning jackpot(s).....When you make your claim after that two weeks(for money arrival) the money can be wired into your account that day. I could be misinformed on the 2 week period.....but the wire transfer/direct deposit I am certain of.....If you don't have the money, I am sure you could get a cash advance on a C. Card. If you don't have one( C.C.) or have the means to get a cash advance, then I guess you will sit home and wait. The winner could be the type that doesn't care to be mobile, if so, I wish  that person the best of luck with all the media etc etc.......How fast things happen depend on you and your advisors/consultants

Depends on where you live, I know here in Texas, our lottery commision will release the name of the Trustee and the name of the Trust, but they will refuse to list the name of the Grantors or the Beneficiaries.

The unfortunate thing is, someone can hire an attorney to work for open records release of the names of the latter two, which is currently happening to the $76M "MAED Trust". :( Despite this, it's still the best way to go for lottery winners from my state, especially since it can give some time to get everything tied down before the storm comes blowing in.

I played the same 35 picks the past three drawings, playin the same for the next plus 15 easy picks.

This one will be increased before the drawing on Tuesday. $255.1 million be $175 In GA. But i doubt 1 ticket will win it this time. Yes I don't see how you wouldn't seek advice for money like this. I thought a blind trust was to keep anonymous? Wouldn't you just put your lawyers name as beneficiary are revoke his/her power after they collect? Keep your name out of the papers. I'm not gonna give the money back if I can't but i'm gonna do everything I canto stay hidden.

In Kansas it takes 10-14 buisness days for the money to get to the state and can take up to 30 days from the day you go in to claim the money for you to receive your money if you choose the cash option.

You use more than one trust. The first trust is just a trust to collect the winnings.It hands the money over to another trust.  You could even make the first trust a blind trust.

Well ..that wasn't the post I was trying to reply to ..but you get the idea.

Step 1: WIN

Sharing with your friends or relatives sounds great.  But don't forget if you plan to give away more than 5 million dollars total, you'll be paying some very hefty gift taxes in addition to the income taxes.  You'd certainly have the money to do it on a single-ticket jackpot win, but I heard one woman say she'd divide it equally with her three daughters.  If she did that, she could end up with nothing left for herself after paying the income and gift taxes!  So I'd suggest one should not make any big promises to friends or relatives about sharing in a big way until after conferring with a tax advisor on the impact of large gifts.  When maximumfun says "with some careful planning," she really does mean careful planning.

Uff Da!, its called a trust

u can claim said jackpot with it, ,any have any amount of freinds/family named as beneficiaries, with u ofc as main one,getting 90% or however much u want, rest to other beneficiaries.

let alone, how bad is gift tax,its jsut a double tax, they already taxed it once, now they want to tax it again, their evil.

however lucky, their legal ways to get past these pricks

also to kyokushin187, u want to collect by end of 2 weeks, as atfer 2 weeks, state has all funds in 1 account, ready to be xfered to your new bank,that happy to pay intrest on your 100hundred million plus account, lol

best thing people can do is lawyer/trust up,and buy a body guard if u have to,

the main issue,is with such large amounts,people want to share with family, but lose lips sink ships, and family is one big talkers.

onless we get smartass/lawyer type for brains winner, , i doubt meda won't try their est to find u out.

 this will be intresting to watch unfold.

Id like to see it roll over till atleast good friday! The I win it! Talking about a good friday!

wasn't there a poster who said she predicted that it would roll until Good Friday and the winning ticket would be bought on Sunday. That means you would have to play two drawings. Or maybe she said it would roll until Good Friday week.

Think they will have the drawing in new york on Tuesday ? Isn't that where they had it last time it got up there.

Guess if it went past or until good friday it would be close to or past 600 million!

Personally, I see it rolling two weeks past Good Friday and being won on the 20th.

Yes, that's right, on Lima Bean Respect Day.

So you think it will be hit on 4/20??  No wonder you're always so funny I want some of what you been smoking! (That wacky tabacky?)  LOL        Good Luck to everyone on LP.......

How dare you impugn the name of Lima Bean Respect Day!

I am Shocked and Appalled!

LOL!  Nothing against the Nobel Lima Bean..... Although I have always been more of a Butter Bean or Pinto Bean type.    Enjoy your Lima Bean Respect day..... I enjoy some nice spam with my beans and cornbread. 

Bahahaha... thats what my mom calls it!!! she's gonna b 69! but that sounds like an enjoyable celebration!!!! although i don't see it rolling over that many times, it'd b an astounding number!!

Lima Bean Respect Day ???????? ....WTF is THAT ???? lemme guess.....Its the next celebrated day after "Clean Out The Still" day ???

Actually the wire transfer...if you were the sole winner would be for roughly $191 million as only 25% Federal tax is witheld initially. You would owe another $25.5 million (Federal top tax rate is 35%) when you file your 2012 income taxes.

I find it funny how the media really makes it sounds like as if the sole winner would get the entire $356 million as a lump sum if won.

What a phone call to work that would be ....""" i'm calling in rich""".....by by

Since the MM is sold nationwide, I believe it takes roughly 2-weeks from the time the winner comes forward for the funds to be wired into his/her account.

In the meantime, I am willing to bet that ALMOST any bank would be happy to give you a short term loan :-)

Which is the day right after 'buy new silk under-garments' day; which is after roast your own coffee bean day; which is after...

now personally I have never celebrated 'still-cleaning day' but I will happily add it to my required holidays this year.

These neophytes to the national holiday scheme... of COURSE there is a Lima Bean Respect Day... the fact that so many know nothing of it just goes to demonstrate the need for it!  (nodding head vigorously - while making additional mental list of what to do with my new wealth while remaining under the radar)

I will not celebrate Lima Bean Respect Day because the lowly Lima Bean has failed to earn my respect.

  The only one that winns all the time is the Federdal tax people..If you think about it you get taxxed at lleeast twice.. first when you make the money ,thay when you try to send the money..

I am diligently working on this.  Plan in place for ability to move to step 2 tomorrow...

$356 million sounds good to me, just got back from Texas & of course we grabbed a few Mega tickets on our way back now we we have to states coverd..

Florida residents who travel to Georgia to get their MM tickets would owe the state of Georgia almost $16 million dollars if they were lucky enough to have purchased the sole winning ticket.

The Federal tax liability at the top rate of 35% would be almost $90 million but they are being nice by only taking out 25% initially($63 million). Talk about paying your fair share

This is the time I wish I lived in Delaware where complete anonymity is legal. I have promised you the next JP is headed to good old Massachusetts after CT then RI had their chances. MA lottery would never dream of anonymous payout. They would splash your info at every intersection in the commonwealth. Oh well, I'll just move out of the country.

All this talk about beans is making me hungry lol. Good thing we have a can of refried beans in the cupboard.

Willing to bet the jackpot will be over $400 million by Tuesday night. The last time MM was this high it jump roughly $60 million in the days leading up to the drawing.

If MM hits $420 million, we could be looking at a cash value of over $300,000,000

WE? I work alone!

I've got a crock pot full of pulled chicken cooking up... I'm thinking to add some beans to some and make some chicken chili. But no lima beans. Adding beans in chili is sacrilege here in Texas, but chicken chili you can get away with it.  That does it, chicken chili for dinner it is.

"WE" is referring to the entire LP family

It's called pun - lol!

Sounds yummy

That's an insane jackpot! I'll take some please.

ok now you all made me put a pot of red beans/rice on the stove & cornbread....LOL....

Ridge jackpot  got bigger now more money to share through the state. so if you hit make it two bottles

Winning tonight Powerball jackpot will be great because everybody is focused on the Mega Millions.

If it was to make it to 4/20 it would probably be over 1 billion! Nice bit of monery!

And that much money id be happy to take it in 26 payments!

Sounds mighty tasty!

We get the Goya Rancheros Refried Pinto Beans now off of a tip from some of my Wife's friends, mix that with a can of Fiesta Nacho Cheese for a simple but delicious bean dip. 

Beans and cornbread had a fight. "Beans," said cornbread, "That's all right! Meet ya on the corner on Saturday night!"

LOL.  Nothing better than beans and cornbread.

Pulled chicken might not be ready to make it as chili tonight. Will have to save for tomorrow. Missing a couple ingredients, so I'll have to go out and get them tomorrow... and pick up a couple more lottery tickets for Tuesday's draw.

There is not a single good reason to take the annuity in these times. Take the cash, invest with the help of investers, stash some away in a safe.

LOL....Piaceri you so crazy..... nothng like a bowl of chicken chili on a Sunday afternoon..

Yep take the cash!!!!

Absolutely no doubt it would be over 1 billion. If no one wins this Tuesday the MM jackpot will exceed $500 million for Friday's drawing and have a cash lump sum value of over $350 million.

I'm gonna win $356,000,000 on Tuesday and I'll take all the attention that comes with it.

Milk it like a cow Guru!   

Lao Tzu
Tao Te Ching.

Tao

1

The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings.

The Master stays behind;
that is why she is ahead.
She is detached from all things;
that is why she is one with them.
Because she has let go of herself,
she is perfectly fulfilled.

You don't want cash in your safe! You want gold, platinum, paladium & silver in your safe!
I will read about all of the attention that I am being given for winning the big cash, from the very comfortable hiding place! And be ROTFLOLing!

Oh I dunno.  There are several people I know who would lose it all immediately, as they always spend exactly what they have, no more no less and NEVER save, but when put on a manditory budget (taking the annuity), they would only lose the amount they have, (not going into debt) and that would guarentee them to have ALOT for the length of the annuity.

Other than that situation, I cant think of a reason, unless the winner were unconvinced that they or their experts could do a better return than the annuity percentage (which would be a pretty sad commentary).

Personally?  Take the cash baby!

split hair here and thar ........ with no real answer in sight

those who say different are fulla beans and manure 

People like that are the first to sell their annuity to the annuity brokers that will hound them from the git-go, not realizing that by selling the annuity it does not absolve them from future tax liabilities. Then they get IRS problems. IF someone takes the annuity, they better be darn disciplined enough to live within the annuity limits, and smart enough to listen to advisors. Taking the annuity does not make an over spender into a budget conscious individual.

that would be nice KSplayer....

well if they are not carful they will have that company that air commercials through out the day talking about selling your annuity....

I have known a few people that if they won $2 million, they would be in debt for $ 4 million, etc.  You cannot instill good sense and money management skills in some people and some will live beyond their means no matter what the income. For those people, lottery money is like a drug.

When I win on Tuesday, I am taking the cash man!  And after I do win, I don't want to hear this OWS crap about paying my fair share!

On another note, the folks over at Powerball can be none too happy that MM has trumped Powerball in excitement and a record cash value jackpot!  MM I love you man....now show me some love and let me go from ZERO bucks won in this run up to record jackpot multi-millionaire!  I have all of my teeth and I was born and raised in the good land of USA. 

Show me the money!!!

The annuity pays the winner roughly 1.5% annually based on the cash value. If you invest it yourself and just net 2% annually, you would gross over $428 million in 26 years. 3% annually would get you over $550 million. There are tax-free muni bonds that have paid more than that so it would be wise to take the lump sum cash.

The care-free spender who take the annuity ($10 million per year after tax) would still get in trouble. Once their annual payment is exhausted, they would simply cash out the annuity or take out loans on future payments so it would be a no win situation in either case.

Prime example are the pro athletes who make more than $10 million per year and finding a way to blow it all. If someone has no clue on how to manage money or any desire to seek help/advice then they deserve to lose it all.

A little common sense goes a long way these days.

I would take the CV, invest it conservatively, live off the interest, pay Uncle Sam her share, and avoid any business investments that could bankrupt me.  I would not become a venture capitalist, so those with dodgy to brilliant biz ideas would be just wasting your time coming to me for a loan, and my middle name is not "Santa Claus" so you would stand a better chance at getting a gift from tightwad Grinch and penny pinching Scrooge than anything from me.  And all the charities out there should know I don't plan to become philanthropic until the year 2070, so you will just be wasting your time and resources soliciting me for a donation....and that includes churches too.  Oh I will be benevolent, but only on my own terms.  If a charity contacts me, that charity will join my "no donation" list.

Money money money....I loved me some money!

Absolutely no doubt!

Very sad but true

so true Jill34786....

I think we all know someone that fits that script.

ppl. w/ good sense are outnumbered.

Nodding head vigorously in agreement.  We were having this conversation earlier over dinner with some friends.  And the dh of my friend looked over and seriously said that they would have to take the annuity because that way they would be guaranteed to have income.  I just smiled and nodded.  No sense arguing with someone who has made up their mind.  Ok... they will take the annuity. Personally I would take the cash value (cv).  De gustibus non est disputandum.

Consentio!

You can always invest annuity! And make even more than you would otherwise! I dont think Id spend near what Id make each year! Heck after 1st year i wouldnt spend near the amount given!

You are so right! at least for a couple months maybe years.

don't take the lottery annuity, buy your own.

Me too, I'd still have money left over from the first year!

You are so right! get out for a couple months or years.

not to good at latin,does that mean argue a sense of taste ?

Well I got my six tickets two QP's and four my picks.  I would be a happy camper if I won on tuesday night.-weshar75

"De gustibus non est disputandum" I believe it means no disputing about taste.

That is correct!

Hey OldSchool!

I got most of my teeth (left a couple or three in saloons) and I was born and breaded in East Tennessee and we ain't never won nothin' up in here leastways as I can tell. C'mon now!

No accounting for taste is how I always translated it.  :)

OOooOOoo me too me too.  I got all my teeth (cept for those I dont) and I was born in the US and raised on bread!

I would love to see you win weshar75, and I ain't kiddin' brother.

I hope you do.

Ridge

Thanks, i should look at that closer.

One of us should win this <snip> thing!-weshar75

I hearby swear to take one for the LP team and volunteer to win MM on Tuesday.

I did not know dang was a dirty word.  Well I said the beaver kind but still I did not know it would be edited.-weshar75

Well i got $1QP my husband needed the other two dollars for the car wash. It only takes one line to win right!

I would take the cv and use a certain amount to go "crazy" with and then set up a conservative budget to live off of and invest a portion.

That's right KS, it only takes one.

I hope you got a lucky one!

OK...Funny thing....How many pages will this post end with by tuesday night at 11 P.M........Any bets.......I'll go with 34 pages.....I also would love to hear that it's  someone from LP that hits ....Best of luck to everyone.

That's funny you say that because I was looking at how many comments were in the $290 million thread, $241 thread and the $200 million thread (only has 71 comments lol ) Goes to show you maybe a $200 million jaackpot is not much to chat about anymore?

$241 is when the chatting really started going!!

Congrats to me on my 100th post lol

i don't bet it be 34 pages gocart1

here why

i bet their going to up amount jackpot amount before monday ends, as sells will be to high"all record jackpots get bumped during last mins"   ,and top  lottery people wil have a short meeting monday, look at data form sat/sunday, guest monday,tues sells based off last 2 days,

,and give the ok to market the new Amount

so their be a new story on here how it got upped. and we commit on that  one more. that's my thinking anyway with bets

history repeats,  go look at 2011 run of the 240m cash jackpot,  it got upped many times over,and where higher then that in cash"real sales"

and we had many stories on it,i like being on lottery post when jackpot this high

everyone gets worked up in excitement over it.

Really? I didn't know they could do that.

Never paid attention to lottery before so I didn't know they could raise the amount again, twice?

Yes, you can. It depends where you live, but you can even try to work something out. I know every state is going to want the attention, but going on the tube is the worst mistake ever. Claiming it too early is also a mistake. When I see all six of those numbers are the same Tuesday night, we're going to start looking for legal advice the next day. No family members and close family friends will be called until after all business has been taken care of. I'm not going to even go into the store I bought the winning ticket from. While everyone is wondering who won, I'm going be wondering with them.  Knowing it's me, but they don't won't know that.

I would be more than happy to share...as long as you hold the other winning ticket!  I knew I could count on a response from you Rdgrnr, but I was actually referring to lucky MO $258M PB jackpot winner Chris Shaw who showed off his toothless grin when he won.  Instead, I will be showing off all of my pearly whites! 

I still haven't purchased my all in tickets...still got $98 to go.  The QPs will be easy, but I am just trying to get the vibes on my own picks.  If I don't feel anything too strong, I might just put a playslip up on my dart board and fire away and see where the hanging chads are located.  Then I will play a combination of those numbers.  After all, it is nothing but a game of chance and my chances of hitting that way are just as good as someone who over analyzes the previous numbers drawn trying to come to some prediction as to which numbers will roll the next time.  Even Brad Duke wouldn't have won had he not played multiple sets of numbers.  Just think about that!  If I win Tuesday, I would be ahead of Brad Duke in jackpot winnings!!!  Yes, I would gladly allow TLCML to profile me for one of their future episodes...but only after the year 2016.  I need a few years to enjoy the winnings before I show everyone "how I am living!"

I do not believe that there will be anything 'conservative' about the budget that I will live within.  Simply because there is too much money and too much to do... and an airplane to buy (along with flying lessons... well ok... flying lessons first and then the plane)

10 QPs with megapliers bought tonight using house money won from Friday's draw. Might get one more slip using 'my' numbers.

Now, has there ever been any KNOWN winner of a major lotto (MM, PB, Big Game, whatever) that used a 'system'? I'm not talking 'lucky numbers' (birthdays, anniversarys, etc.)---that's not a system. I'm talking someone who pain-stakingly anaylized numbers of previous draws in order who determine the likelihood of a winning combination--a matrix or whatever--and actually WON with that method.

Cause I'm calling bull<snip> on all that until someone opens my eyes to see something different.

I have to wait until I get home from work to find out.....

Brad Duke supposedly.

man its been a while since everybody around me has been so hyped about the lottery. the media is really getting worked up about this. the winner(s) better make travel plans to some place far far away.

I AM PROBABLY THE ONLY PERSON ON EARTH ABLE TO PREDICT LOTTO KENO NUMBERS, USUALLY IT TAKES A LOT OF INVESTMENT IN THE GUESS WORK, IN MOST CASES THE GUESS WORK IS NOT FROM THE BLUES, BUT WITH DEDICATED HARD RESEARCH WORK WHICH HAS BEEN IN THE PAST FRUITFULL.  I PLAY FROM NEW ZEALAND SOME OF THE GAMES OF USA AND I DID THE ABOVE LOTTO ONCE AND GOT MANY NUMBERS CORRECT, I HAVE JUST PLACED SOME OLD TICKETS I WON ON. I PLAY THROUGH AGENTS WHO BITE ALL THE COMMISSION. 

I JUST READ THE LAST DRAW WAS WON TOO BY ONE MEMBER WHO PLAYS ONLINE HE GOT A 5 CORRECT, I HAVE SOME NUMBERS FOR THE MEGA MILLIONS ON TUESDAY, IF I WON IT, I SHALL DISCLOSE IT TO LOTTERY POIST TOO, I THINK THE AGENTS ONLINE I PLAY ARE IN NEW YORK. I AM ON SKYPE: KAITAS6

IF ONLY ALL KNEW HOW TO CHOOSE LOTTO KENO NUMBERS FOR EACH DRAW, I AM CERTAIN LOTTO WILL NEVER GO NO WIN.

That's a riot! Goes to show how some of us hardcore LP'ers will wager on just about anything! How about who makes the most comments

in this thread? 34 sounds good, unless the jackpot is adjusted upwards again before Tuesday. 

Yep all it takes is one(1) to win it KS!!!!!!!

Whoever wins it hopefully lives in a state that doesn't tax lottery prizes........if its not me of course lol

what would really be nice is if there was no Federal or State taxes taken out now that would be sweet, anywho I believe Oklahoma is 4%

 If he/she is the sole winner then paying some more tax won't make that much difference. I mean, cash value in $250 millions? C'mon!

I'm rooting for ya rdgrnr!!  If only to see the hillarious press conference...... 

Always take CASH......You always want to control the Principle in the investment.  In these times with States/Gov'ts broke because of unfunded pensions and mandates I don't trust these bums with MY money!!  Why should on top of the money they have already made should they get to make additional money of investments from my jackpot. 

Oh my bet is that the page number will go to 40.......A personal lucky number and one of the finest Presidents in my lifetime(Just my opinion).  Yes I have a lot of gamble in me....HAHA

Really! look at new jerseys tax rate at 10.8% that's $27,500,000 that's a good chunk of change

Indiana is only like 3.4-3.6% :-)

has there ever been a set of #'s all even?

Ouch !!!!!!!   and then the 35% of the Feds take ( $89,285,000.00) +  NJ take( $27,500,000.00) ......almost 117 MILLION in taxes !!!!!! 

WOW!!!!! 10.8% that hurts big time...

PA has no state tax just federal tax

$165,750,000.00 cash now after the 35% federal tax

Spend 15,000,000 and bank the rest in foreign bank accounts to obtain higher intrest

Yikes.  and I thought RI was bad (now with a 5.99% top - lowered from 7%)... you win the 'oh my giddiant' prize of the day!

Can you believe that ?????.....between those 2 government agencies(Feds & NJ state) they take ALMOST 1 out of every 2 dollars won....My hat is off to all the winners who live in that tax bracket....definitely never buying a MM ticket that state, EVER !!......I can see it now..."I won the 356 million dollar Lottery Jackpot !! Well wait, it was 255 million dollars in cash..Wait,,, I end up 138 million"......puts a whole new meaning to, "I'm from the government and I am here to help"..imho

Crazy.  Small gov't, doing it's job according to The Constitution. It's a dieing thing.

No state taxes in Texas either. It's good to live in Texas, jackpot or not. Small, parttime gov't. Yeah.

. Whoever wins, no matter what state they live in or what that state's tax rate is, it will be more money than they could spend in their lifetime (unless they were complete morons) and guarantee a generation or two of their loved ones following them a life of not worrying about money.

"......puts a whole new meaning to, "I'm from the government and I am here to help"...

lolol - small gov't/big gov't regardless of what you start with... that kind of tax (NJ's) would end up with BIG gov't - or alot of brand new Mercedes being driven as 'company cars'.

Yes it only takes 1 to win, but I am going to blast away with my shotgun to improve my chances from 1 in 175,711,536 to 100 in 175,711,536.  Not a imperceptible difference, but of course it won't matter to me that I spent $100 if I actually win the jackpot (I don't play for anything but the jackpot).

Yep.  Say you end up with $150,000,000 after taxes.  Invested safely at 5% interest you would earn $856.16 per hour which comes out to $625,000 per month IN INTEREST ALONE.  Hard to blow that but I'm sure dome dip wad could do it.

I dont think I could lose that much in a month.....but I could put a dent in it......buying  losing scratch offs in Florida !!!!!

856.16$ per hour... I could probably live on that.  Might have to trim the budget a little though... tighten the belt so to speak. 

According to the Mega site by-state tax breakdown, as an Ohio resident I'd clear almost 176 million after taxes. The absolute last thing I'd be worrying about when a check of that size is deposited into my bank account is what the state is taking out on their end.

For that amount of money CD, you could afford to hire a fleet of couriers to pick up all the scratchers for you. Then you could hire a couple of full time

gals    to do all the scratching for you. Then all you'd have to do is cash them in!       

Shouldn't set you back more than $150-200K a month?

The only time I would spend a huge amount is the first year, getting all the excitement out of my system and big purchases house vacation etc. Most CFPs I've seen interviewed  say not to do anything big for 6 months to a year but do say blow 10% or so to get the urge to spend  out of the way. I could do all of that with a fraction of $17 million.

I'd proally try to move to a gate community until i got all my ducks in a row since i have children... and make sure i have a comfortable reliable vehicle... and in the first year or two i plan on trying to donate 10% of the cash i receive to charity... its crazy the amount of interest u can gain and easily live off of!!!!!

Gogidolim, mi amigo,

I just wanted to be sure you're speaking for yourself about taxes because your attitude and mine toward feeding the beast are poles apart.

I wanted to be sure you know you can give as much to the government as you please without insisting everybody else do it because you think it's a good idea.

All those millions you donate will be gone in minutes as the feds piss it away to send anxious liberal men to Zimbabwe to study men washing their packages and thousands of other critically important studies just like that. Did you know that we still give China Foreign Aid? Yes, we do. Maybe your millions will go there.

So please give freely but understand that a lot of us just don't believe in throwing money away like that.

This country's fiscal problems are not due to too few taxes - they're due to too much insanely stupid spending.

Can't get my emoticon to work... but I AGREE!!!

  And let me add a Hell Yeah! 

First thing my tax atty will do is minimize how much we feed the monster.

Thank you, ashabug. 

The interest would be pretty sweet on 138 + million(after fed & ??? state taxes).......I plan on giving(subject to change) more than 60%-70  away (after taxes) to designated charities, non profit orgs and a several needy folks I personally know....The interest on whats left to live off, would be a very comfortable life style as well 

Thank you, Piaceri.

That debt clock really puts things in perspective when you watch how millions and millions of our tax dollars disappear in just minutes just paying the interest on our huge national debt. And some people just want us all to keep dumping more money into that rather than curtail the insane spending spree the government is on.

Makes you wonder if they run their own finances that way and think they can do it forever.

Good for you. That's some serious charity-giving there. Have you hit the road yet to buy tickets? (I see you're in Florida)...

Totally agree with ya rdgrnr

Yes sir.....was on vacation a few weeks ago up north and bought advanced draws on a few tickets

Don't forget about the other 10% the feds get lol

Ah, betting the Jack Whittaker way...

Wow that is an amazing amount to give away!  you definitely would have the max charitable amount pegged for ... well almost forever!  (isnt it max 30% deductable AGI per year with balance serving as carry forward?) 

And yes, I realize that you would not be donating so much for the tax write off, but it sure doesnt hurt!  Well played.  Good luck to you!

Arrow......I think it's reasonable amount to give away.....if I get 140 million and give away 94...still leaves me with 46 million...............take 6 million to buy houses,land,toys, etc etc.... invest the remaining 40 million and live off the interest(3-4%)..comes out to 1.2- 1.6 million a year..minus 35% in interest income for fed taxes would still give me 780K - million a year to live on and help out some charities again........Just rough estimates on the figures, but it's what I would like to do if I won

Not sure what the max  charitable contribution is but, for me its about getting the money to the people as soon as reasonably possible who need or know what to do with it, including my investors..lol

I think one thing that any lottery winner should be mindful of is to not gift any relatives or longtime friends over the $13,000 ($26,000 per couple) tax free exclusion amount per year.

Monitor how they spend their money over the year...

and heavily consider withdrawing the priviledge if they are wasting the money (not investing it for retirement, not setting it aside for emergencies, not investing it in their kid's education, etc.)

I have a sister-in-law that I am quite sure would likely go blow the money on expensive clothes or useless items and then come knocking on the door a day later for another hand out because the electric bill is due...

I'd still be willing to give her a chance to prove me wrong, but anything given would come with a "one strike, you're out!" warning. I give her less than a month before I would likely write her off the gift list, can't say I did not give her a fair warning and equal opportunity like the others.

Outstanding. I was thinking about giving away about half. You make me look greedy...

OK, well...still not ruining the moment.

Or, CDanaT, you could modify this plan by including 3+ of your closest friends and/or family members (anybody that doesn't already have $3.5M gross, accrued in their investment and/or retirement accounts) on your Lottery Claim Form.  You could give each of your, above, chosen people an equal gross share, or a lesser percentage share, to your own jackpot percentage share. 

After that, there would still be tens of millions of dollars net electronically deposited from your lottery headquarters for you, individually, to donate to official or unofficial charities if still inclined.

Well thank ya kindly, mightwin.

And I hope you do well Tuesday night!

Good Luck!

Sucks that I'm stuck in Jersey. 

Also...why is 10% added to the Fed tax in addition to the state tax?

You'd be so wealthy, Kumo, able to give to a few others $13K annually, for decades, without caring how they spent that money.  Remember, it's only $13K, if you give it lovingly, then you won't be inclined to care or spy on how it's spent.  Be happy by taking the peaceful gifting route, without expectations, contingencies, or ultimatums.

So Kumo - you would not really be giving them a gift... you would be giving them a directed deposit.  If it were really a 'gift' it would be up to the recipient how/when/where to spend it.  Strings are a harsh thing to put on a gift... especially when you would have so much more, it seems controlling.  It's one thing to say:  'this much, no more' (for whatever reason), and quite another to say 'and if you dont use it the way I think is best, you are cut off from future largess.'

Out working in the flowerbeds and found a 4 leaf clover.   Stopped and bought my ticket.  (Would have bought one anyway).  No lines here for tickets yet.   Of course Tuesday is still a ways away.   Good luck to everyone.   May your foundest dream come true!

Null, I feel for ya.....on 255 million, the feds get 35% at the end of the tax year(although its stated on the lottery website they keep 25%), then you get 10.8 % Jersey state tax...soooo if ya take the 255 million and multiply it times (35+10.8) 45.8 %......
$255,000,000.00    x  .458 tax rate......drum roll please.....you get to keep................................................................
...138 million and change after taxes(roughly)...TAA DAAA 

Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.

 

Max...I agree with you on the gift issue..while the gift is a very generous thing to do, it is  considered a gift and not a loan....  the giver wants to see the receiver exercise some of the same ideas on how to spend it, as the giver sees it.....I wonder  if you could just offer to pay down their bills up to the 13K/26K ( IRS max allowed to be given as a gift) instead ? Might be an option of generosity that would be acceptable....imho

even still is such a huge amount of money... i would gladly still accept this any hour of the day!!!! got a few of my quick picks from random gas stations around town... still workin on my numbers... will proally spend about $20 in all... i know my day will come.. i just hope its Tuesday!!!! ;-)

what is imho??

In my humble opinion

Because, Null Space, if you study the IRS code online, you will notice that lottery winnings are taxed as "earned income."  If you read the U.S.A. Federal Income Tax Table's "earned income" brackets, you will find out that big lottery jackpot winners are instantly ALL in the top income tax bracket, which is 35% (even those very rare MM and PB jackpot winners who take the annuity amount -- which would still be in the top income tax bracket each year). 

Consequently, if you read that your Lottery Headquarters in only withdrawing 25% U.S.A. Federal Income [plus your State Income Tax (and some winners also get County and/or Municipal lottery taxes withdrawn)], then you must deduce that you still will owe your Federal Government the remaining, approximately 10% due on your own, annual, tax form submittal.  You will need to pay that remaining approximately 10% before the prior year's income taxes are due the following year, by April 15th 'ish.  If you forget to pay that approximate 10% Income Tax (subtract appropriate amount if a corporation or charity or foundation or gave to a charity), remaining, the IRS will soon write to you announcing that they've penalized you an additional % Fine.  I bet that the U.S.A. Federal IRS isn't unaccustomed to tracking and collecting this.

I will not willingly render unto Caesar my hard earned money so drooling liberal men in this country can go to Zimbabwe to watch men there wash their genitalia for "science." Let them pay for their own sick-minded sexcapades. 

And I will never willingly render unto Caesar money to slaughter innocent babies or euthanize old people.

Ain't happenin'.

Period.

They both exist?

set up a charitable organization like the bigwigs do to avoid estate tax etc with part of your money. do good deeds. pay yourself and others to work there. write off expenses. There is a website you can go to where you can look at the tax returns of charities and what they actually give out of the money received.  Since you aren't collecting donations from anyone all you need to worry about is what fits the rules - not the morality aspect of taking someone's money and not giving it to the intended target.

Barron Hilton pledged to give away his fortune to charity. You can just imagine the salaries the Hilton's are pulling in from that charity. By doing that, his fortune was not taxed to death when he died (if he is dead)

cool.. thanks!!!

"Paying some more tax won't make that much difference" ? Tell that to those who live in states that charge over 10% state income tax(NJ 10.8%) on top of the 35% Federal tax rate (they only take out 25% initially but you WILL be on the hook for the other 10%.

If there is a sole winner who happened to live in NJ, their $255 million cash prize would have 25.5 million in State and 89.3 million in Federal tax obligations making the total tax almost 115 million. I know the president cries about the rich paying their fare share but this is insane.

A 356 million jackpot ends up netting 140 million...don't get me wrong as I would be overjoyed if I won but 140 million doesn't quite go as far as the $356 million that the media wants most people to believe they will win.

I certainly believe in God, but what is conotated here is that I would owe 10% to some church's collection plate.  Well, I think I could put that 10% to work much better than 99.9% of the so called churches out there operating out of some prefab acme steel building. 

As for Caesar, I KNOW I can help those that are worthy of my help mo betta than present day Caesar can.  I trust myself more than I do "Caesar" to figure out who would benefit from my largess the most.

I had generally assumed the actual cash after taxes would be 1/3 of the jackpot... But i agree w u saying the media makes it seem like the winner will actually receive $356,000,000.00 (looks so much nicer to put the zeros!!) and while 140-170,000,000.00 would b more than enough for me and my family, the people/groups hounding for money i doubt will c it that way... I am ok w Indiana getting 3.5%... but 35% is high!!

Amen

Not a tax attorney---or any kind of attorney---but if one gives to charity at least 10% after initial fed/state taxes are taken out one is not responsible for this additional fed 10%? Am I close?

Todd posted on this subject some months ago, and he said that the extra 10% could be easily taken care of by any compitent tax attorney.  Thus, one shouldn't worry about it.  There is always enough deductions to cancel out this 10%. 

Dont' know if this is the case in all situations, but I would think that most will not have to pay the extra 10%.

That'd leave me at $182,580,000!!!!!

Figured as such.

If you gave away 10% of your pre-tax winnings, then there is a good chance that you would owe very little additional federal tax come April15th, 2013.

It also sucks that our law makers passed that 10.8% state tax in the middle of the night,

and the storey never made it to the newspapers,

i guess they were afraid they lose the ad $ from the lottery.

Thanks. So, in Ohio I'd 'clear' about 176 million after fed/state taxes with this Lotto win. And if I designate at least 10% of that as going to charity---which it certainly would---the issue of the 'additional' fed 10% is moot.  No problem whatsoever.

This is where forming the Private Charitable Foundation comes into play. If you are planning on giving away your money form a foundation to do it.

I still wonder about the three hedge fund guys that supposedly bought 1 powerball ticket at a gas station and split the winnings.  Then a friend of one of them comes forward and said they were really claiming it for someone else..and the three saying that wasn't true. Three hedge fund guys should have known to claim to let a trust claim that ticket.

Would you blast another $100 with your shotgun if the jackpot is not won?

So, it is STILL a good idea to lean on the conservative side that a, rare, huge jackpot winner won't be "most," and will therefore have 10% tucked aside, as "easily available/liquid funds," to pay additional Income Tax monies to the U.S.A. Federal Government. 

Why not plan to take care of your sanity intentionally, no harm can be done from this plan?

 Forming a charitable trust would be my choice as a foundation for charitable contributions. You can hire people (thus creating more jobs) to help make sure your charities are taken care of.

true..true...

Maybe a stupid question... the other 10%... is that taken off of the 356million or 255cv

Just look at it as a whole. It's 35% total. So whether you choose the 255 million CV or the 356 annuity, you will be taxed 35%.

With the kind of $$$ you'd be clearing here, no matter the state you live in, it's not a big deal, but out of curiousity does anybody know a ballpark figure to 'form' all the various trusts you'd want? A trust to claim the jackpot (if your state allows it), a trust to form a charity, a trust for this and that...?

Okay! thanks masone

It's tacked on either one. It doesn't matter if you choose the annuity or lump sum cash as the Feds will still tax you at the highest tax rate.

Depending where you set up the trust and charitable foundation, you can expect to spend 10-15k if you have your attorneys do all the leg work. You could minimize the cost if you did some of the paper work yourself but I don't think you would really care about saving a few thousand dollars if you won

I would be happy with the $191,250,000 wire transfer for Pennsylvania winners!

If it would happen to go to $300,000,000 cash value, the wire transfer would be about $225,000,000!

I would be more than willing to mitigate the remaining 10% Federal Tax Obligation with some very nice charitable contributions ...........

You've been very informative. Thanks.

If I win can I hire you?

So do you guys think that the jackpot will rise pass $390 million (the largest to date) before Tuesday's draw with all the ticket sales or will it take another roll?  I kinda want it to roll just for excitement value.

You're very welcome!

I am always available for consultation and my fees would be based on performance

 If as much thought and effort that went into the process of tax limitation, would go into the actual determination of the winning numbers.   

HaveABall Wrote: "You'd be so wealthy, Kumo, able to give to a few others $13K annually, for decades, without caring how they spent that money.  Remember, it's only $13K, if you give it lovingly, then you won't be inclined to care or spy on how it's spent.  Be happy by taking the peaceful gifting route, without expectations, contingencies, or ultimatums."

I would be very surprised if the Jackpot didn't surpass $400 million prior to Tuesday's drawing.

Hopefully I could afford you...

Seriously, good luck to you and thanks for the information.

Finding ways to minimize tax obligations and investing the proceeds is the easy part. Trying to determine what numbers will hit is beyond the capabilities of most of us humans. Speaking for the majority, I believe we all just want some luck on our side

You hit the nail on the head Jill. We need to be in contact with alien beings who are much more in tune with numerical prediction than ourselves.

Screw the luck scenario, give us the UFO lotto wizards. 

I wish an alien like ET would be my friend, then I probably wouldn't need any luck

How do we find them? I'll be first in line if they send me back with the winning numbers

I want it to roll too ............ right into my little bank account 

and, I make no promises to anyone ............ I wonder if those in-laws that haven't spoken to us in several years will appear ?!

Look for someone w/ a book titled "to serve man" LOL

Just a thought, an alien may be monitoring this LP chat as we speak.        Your wish may very well come true. The aliens name may not be ET,

but who gives a sh*t, as long as you have the winning numbers?

You don't find them mightwin, they will find you. That's the way its always worked.   

No luck yet, has anyone asked siri yet for the winning numbers, the I phone does everything , doesn't it?

Yeah...only a million times, it just put's you on hold to eat up all your minutes.   

Twilight Zone classic! 

I guess its back to the drawing board then.....................

If I had some sort of sepical being as my bf, I would at least get 7 jackpots before I get tired of winning. But on Tuesday I'm not going to need E.T. All six of those numbers are going to match without him. I know some states take more than others, but whatever they take, it still leaves me with more money than I ever had in my life.  We can help close family & friends and still have many millions left.

I think it's time. Im going for my first an last $100.00 buy of tickets. I bought 1000 powerball tickets on my birthday and didnt even win the 100 dollar prize so this is definitely my last shot at big spending on powerball or mega millions EVER! Good luck guys

Your odds do not change drastically whether you buy 1, 100 or 1000 tickets.  Buy a few from different places this will likely get you more results.

Good luck!    Just try and go over this in your head first, if you don't even match 1 single number.......how will you feel?

At least cover every mega ball number then you will be guaranteed somethin back lol

lol - now that sounds like an interesting plan.  and if you are going to play 100$'s worth... get the megaplyer while you are at it and then you will have 50 tix covering ALL the possible MB's w/ mp... and get a min guaranteed of 4$ back minimum!

Me?  I'm sticking with my 2$ for 2 draws.

Also, there are several small/solo practice, experienced, tax lawyers that will do the 1.5 month worth of work for $5K.  It's all negotiable.  Some of the time is spent waiting for charters/documents to arrive in the mail from the government (unless you inform the tax lawyer that you are willing to drive to the government office, submit your paperwork, wait on the bench a couple of hours, and drive to lawyer's office to deliver final paperwork).

  Anytime you come upon millions , everyone needs a solid plan. There's many positive stories when winning the lottery.

   First ...don't tell the world you won . Second ....copy the ticket .....third ....hide it or put it in a safety deposit box .

   And of course sign it the back . REad everyone comment on here , best advice .  

   Brad Dukes has a solid plan .

Don't always go for the lowest/cheapest  proposal however. Within reason, you get what you pay for. What good is saving a few thousand  $$$

if federal/state tax laws are over looked? For a win of this magnitude, don't be a chump, get the most experienced tax pro's available. This really

is just pocket change were talking about.   

Yep, mcginnin56, that is why I made sure to include the word "experienced" in my first sentence.

A thousand tickets for one drawing?? I must be a cheapskate as I probably don't even buy 100 tickets per year 

"EXPERIENCED" tax attorney's don't come that cheap HaveABall, trust me I have several attorny friends who know better!   

Brad Duke had a plan in which he would have a net worth of a billion dollars within a time frame of 10-15 years. Last I heard, he was about even with where he started.

That is what he said in his last interview. That would be fantastic if he hasn't lost a penny of his earnings thus far! Let us all be Brad Dukes!   

in this economy if hes still even after 7 yrs. hes doing OK .

I think HaveABall was just referring to cost associated with setting up different trusts and charitable foundation.

 I agree that a good tax attorney can be quite costly but are well worth it when looking for ways to minimize taxes.

And then some!!!

I can think of other couples who won the lottery , did very well .

One in Idaho , won millions , said they only spent $4 million.

 Another family in Oregon , moved and brought a  home ,

taking it easy too .  There's positive stories out of this .

Live off the interest .......

He did get hurt by the housing crisis and if it weren't for that he would have a fair amount of gains from his investments.

Even still...with the complex ever changing tax/trust/charitable laws require's seasoned experienced attorneys who know what they are doing.

Sure you can save a few bucks shopping around, and I'm all for that!

Based on my personal experience with attorney friends however, particularly with a huge lottery windfall of this magnitude, you don't want to hire

out the cheapest help. That would be akin to hiring a surgeon with minimal experience to operate on your husbands open heart surgery. 

well we passed the amount of comments on the $290 million thread....lol

would you be able to keep calm or quite if you won?

Yup....by 14 comments. Good observation! 

I would be BOTH CALM AND QUIET.   

I would be quite calm.

yep be calm and quite until I make sure I actually have the money in the bank

I would have a difficult time... id hafta tell somebody.. Id proally borrow money from my 'father in law' so we could get outta town until the money hit my acct... my bf has a big mouth n i believe he'd tell the world but i don't know how i could keep it from him... and id be so afraid of losing the ticket if i didn't claim within a week

I've rehearsed in my mind what I will do if I win about a million times, so yea, I think I could keep my mouth shut the entire time from when I discover I have won, until I see my attorney.  I do live way out in the sticks, so I might be able to yell a bit without folks noticing.

Try some Prozac or Qualudes?   

Never tried em... have xanax but i dunno how much that'd help.. I've been trying to think of the best way to keep it calm and quiet.. id make a copy of ticket for sure.. proally keep one in safe and bible.. And talk to atty... im working out the kinks now so im mentally prepared for Tuesday!

Your doing well ashabug!... there are no guidelines for how to react and prepare for such a life changing event!   

Just trying to think of the safest plan for me and my children... i am a tad naive (more or less just young-26)

If they are going to raise the jackpot at all, you think they will do it tomorrow?  I can't remember back on the 380 million run when they raised it the last time before the drawing.

Trust your instincts, and the people and family members you know and rely on. Your children should always come first.  We have all been

your age, and much younger. The best is yet to come! 

Why not............gotta be a ton of folks buying tix all over the country, maybe up to 360 or 365 ?

Speaking of naive.. id go talk to the long island medium bout my daddy.. id have to money!!

They have to raise the jackpot by early evening Monday night if we want to have any chance at seeing a $400 million jackpot.

They raised it late Monday afternoon on the last large MM jackpot prior to raising it again prior to that Tuesday night drawing...hoping it happens with this one

[:i agree:]

I have a sneaking suspicion that the MM jackpot will be raised around dinner time on Monday.

Its going to be curious to see the sales for this draw and compare them with the sales for the $380 million draw (both being close) to see if the holiday spirit had any thing to do with it lol

I just checked the stats for the 380 MM jackpot (1-4-2010) and it jumped from 242 million the previous drawing. This was won right after New Years so I have no doubt the holiday spirit played a big role in this.

The sales for the $242 million jackpot were $121,535,218, the $380 million draw were $229,421,186. The last draw $290 Million was $111,282,952 (if the info is correct), but when the jackpot gets up there people go crazy lol so ya never know

Ashabug, the safest plan would be to hold true to your first instinct - tell absolutely no one. I've had some things I was tempted to share before but refused for fear information would be spread. Out of curiousity I shared some less sensitive information just to see if the people I shared it with could be trusted. Would anyone like to guess the results? Months later the information was still coming back to me from many different people. The longer time went on, the more twisted the story was when it returned. My guess is when you tell one person, that person typically tells at least one person and they tell one person and on and on it goes. Where it stops nobody knows. For your own saftey my advice is be still and tell know one except maybe your attorney or tax advisor. I'm not sure I could even trust my wife to tell no one but I already have my attorney picked out. Good luck!

The cash value for the last MM jackpot of 290 million was $205.5 million, so I think the sales figure of $111 million might be a tad off. I really have no experience on how accurate those sales numbers are anyway.

many ppl. have said (insert my real name here) don't rattle easily,

so its a big yes.

My husband and I are both active traders in the financial market so we have experienced large gains before just not quite the level of where this jackpot is heading.

We would both confide in our attorney and absolutely no one else. As for keeping quiet...not a problem, but staying calm might be a little tougher.

I earned a big check a couple years ago, told 1 person, my mother, and it spread like wild fire. I want to say that I have learned my lesson, but 365 million, that is a lot to keep in. I'd probably keep it to myself, not because I'm strong enough to just do that, but because I've planned how I will surprise my family with a lotto win for years now, and nothing will get in the way of that.

The website says the sales for just that drawing were that amount, whatever is extra  builds the cash amount each time

Another stupid question... what exactly is a trust for? what does it protect u from?

It allows a lawyer or whoever is in charge to claim the prize for you, so your identity is hidden. So no one knows you actually won. Only certain states allow you to do this

Well you live in a warm climate,get in your bare feet and walk in sand or mud to remind yourself you're still on earth,

and all physical laws still apply,

So the lawyer can b the face behind the madness?? is that n all states or just some?

I believe only a few allow this. Ohio is one of them of the top of my head. Its usually called a blind trust.

Ill hafta get to computer tomorrow n research more! thanks!!!

My husband would know of course but we wouldn't tell anyone else until the money was in the account and even then it would only be certain family members but eventually in the small town we live in it would get around. Thankfully Kansas lets you be anonymous when you claim, with two young kids our first priority is to keep them safe and out of the media.

I think it might be more than a 'few', but yes, you're right, Ohio is one of them. And for that I'm very happy.

yeah I told my wife if we ever won, she and the kids would be far from the madness, I wouldnt want their pics plastered all over the internet. Just my ugly mug...lol

Don't use drugs unless your M.D. says you need them.

The hardest part would be around co-workers, acting like everything was 'normal', showing up and doing your job like usual until all bases are covered. Might have to take acting lessons.

Unless the 'group pool' at the office hits, then pass around the shot glasses and Maker's Mark.

put in for vac. time, then make the claim.

  Except I don't do pools. 

Haymaker - vaca is easy if they grant it. My department is beginning a 3 week (minimum) vacation moratorium Monday a week from now. But that's okay, it takes a bit of time to get everything all set. Keeping it under the hat will be easy since we'll be doing major OT again. Sure would be nice to have that end permanently. 

I would only tell my dad when I win. There is no way I could keep winning all that money from him.  Other than that though, I wouldn't tell a soul.  Not until I got all my ducks in a row and knew exactly what I was going to do.

You are all very dumb to be playing the Mega Millions Lottery. I don't understand why people put so much money into the system when I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna win 

I know one thing.

Viceroys were some nasty cigarettes.

 I...I have a feeling that I will be on talk show circuits for a while... Maybe I am THAT masochistic.

Hi Everyone  

I just joined LP tonight though I've been following this website for some time now.

Hey lucky, I believe I could keep calm and quite now due to all the info from this site.

 I must say my brother and his wife played a prank on me years ago. I went to the liquor store while the numbers were drawn, when I came home they said they wrote down the numbers for me... when I checked the numbers they matched mine...I was soooo excited, I couldn't stop yelling and jumping for joy, I genuinely felt I won 30 million...what an awesome felling...Then they both had a crappy look on their face and told me they found my ticket and copied my numbers...to this day they still feel bad about what happened. 

Good luck, Tuesday to all lp members.

I only work weekends as a waitress.. but would still b difficult.. as far as makers mark... good but prefer gentleman jack!!!

I'll be keepin my eye on the Jerry Springer show for ya! 

I would b so ticked.. that's one prank that wouldn't b funny :-/

I like wimmins who know good whiskey.

I like Gentleman Jack too but I still prefer a little bite like you get with regular Jack.

Yeah, I don't think anybody around here would like that joke.

Welcome to Lottery Post, Gunawin, and Good Luck to you!

 Is that still on the air?

I don't know but I'll find it if you're gonna be on it.

How about Maury Povich, he can have you guess which of the ten guys is the "Baby Daddy".

Just kiddin', gogidolim, I hope you do make the circuit.

Thanks rdgnr,

Yeah, bad Joke... I always check my numbers online now...No worries

 Jack and I thought I should Join Lottery Post before I win the big one this Tuesday...

Good Luck to you too...

Lucky   - I would be silent as the dead!

and...welcome to Lottery Post GunaWin!

Not many places around here have gentleman jack so i normally get good ole jack daniels.. lol..

Now its Steve wilkos i think... i think he was security or somethin on jerry springer

Can't go wrong with that ashabug.

You have a good night and good luck tomorrow.

Its not quite midnight yet so ill take that as good luck getting my winning ticket tomorrow ;-) lol.. but thank u ridge.. u too!!! Hopefully i can get a good nights sleep tonight being as the past couple nights I've tossed n turned dreaming about lottery and waking up almost w anxiety from the dreams seeming so real!!!! its a sign man... its a sign... lol.. have a good night guys :-)

After I win this Tuesday, I will have to give the lotto officials some personal info and do the limited media thing in order to get my 65-75% of the cash payout…do ya think it would be ok to wear an Obama mask to represent his 25-35%? lol 

If its all random how will that help?

Bahahahaha!!!!!!!! that's hilarious!!!! I think ppl would be pi**ed... id definitely Lmao

BuyLow,

"Your odds do not change drastically whether you buy 1, 100 or 1000 tickets.  Buy a few from different places this will likely get you more results."

Buuying in several different locations improves your chances of meeting the Lottery Fairy.

Me and my family's safety comes from first. I'm going to act like I acted the night before the win. Like nothing has changed. I don't play pools.

Usually M.D. is only way you can get these, unless you know some drug dealers. 

Of course it is nearing the record, no one is playing powerball now. I will be REALLY shocked and surprised if it is not won as usual right before the record is broken.

"After I win Tuesday..."

I have been reading those type pf posts here for 8 years now, and guess what? None of those who posted has ever won the big one. Unless they never bragged about it which would be REALLY hard not to do. I guess the odds are greater since it has yet to happen, but I would not hold your breath.

$356 million and you are going to act like you did before? LOL!! Yeah Ok. If you did you may as well stop playing. That kind of money can destroy rational thinking. But odds are you won't be finding out anyway.

Listen here Mr bubble burster!!! we all know what the odds r.. and im sure most of us believe n positive thinking... its just Lil pep talks like before a ball game... a really difficult ball game.. lol.. i don't think "bragging" about is gonna determine whether or not we win ;-)

What? No one is playing the Powerball?    Than these Powerball tickets I purchased must be imaginary?     Can I trade them in for MM tic's?

I like having my bubbles burst, sort of a reality check and bad dream rolled into one.